Chicken is attacking my pug!

I have three six month old Production Red/White Rock cross pullets. We've had them for about two months and they have been laying for about 2 months. They are in their coop run until I get home. So they're out free ranging for about 4 hours each day and more on weekends. Their coop/run is ample size for the three birds, but they surely do look forward to getting out when I get home.

I also have two pugs, a neutered six year old male and a spayed 11 year old female. For the first two months everyone has gotten along famously. I had the dogs on leash the first day, but they like the chickens and leave them alone.

One chicken has started to act a bit aggressively towards the male pug. He was barking at my neighbor's dog yesterday and she went after him. He got a little tiffy back at her and they both got the hose. This is about the 3d time she has gone after him a bit. She'll run toward him and make a stink until I intervene. I'm afraid she'll peck his eye out. The dogs are only in the yard if I'm out there so there's always supervision.

Does anyone have any tips to restore the equanimity of my little backyard flock of birds and dogs? I know chickens aren't too smart. Unfortunately this pug isn't the brightest bulb either. Not sure if he has learned to leave them alone/run away even if they go after him.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

Maggie in CT

I hope you get replies to this, as I have a small Dachshund(7years) that is King Kong around here. 9 chickens have the run of the backyard, and when I let the dog in the back, he starts chasing the chickens. After about 5 or 10 minutes, the chickens start chasing him. It's all fun and games so far, but I really worry about the eye thing.

Welcome! Both pugs and chickens are pretty fragile; I'd keep them separate. Your water hose attack was a good idea, but I'm not at all sure that it would discourage either critter to disengage forever. Try to train the dog and the c hen to avoid each other; good luck! Mary

Thanks! That's the conclusion I have come to as well. Pugs and chickens will have to be separated. I wish we could all just get along!

I also have a pug. Dudley, he will be 4 years old next week. I have 2 older roosters at my camp. Dudley will slightly chase the roosters, but they are big enough to turn on him and scare him off. Its kinda funny actually. When I hatched ducks and chickens at my house, I was concerned at how he would react. I also have a very timid male Pomapoo who minds very well - Roscoe. Both dogs started out barking at the chicken run, and the duck run. But soon seemed to lose interest. But when we are home and let the chickens out of the run, my hubby or I make Dudley sit on our lap and just watch. He's fine while they are just pecking around, but you know how skittish chicks can be. If they take off running, he gets tense. We let him down once, and he grabbed a tail feather and the chicks took off! He got a good scolding! But I still don't trust him as far as I can throw him! lol The funny part is that I have had Dudley at my sister-in-law's house and she has bunches of chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, etc, and he never chases them. They walk around him, and him around them, just like anything else. I think with some training, and getting used to each other, they will be fine. Eventually. I believe Dudley wants them more now because they are "caged" and he can't get in. He wants them because he can't get to them! One chicken did peck Roscoe on the tail and Roscoe didn't even move. But he knew eagle-eye mom was watching.....

Yay! Pug people on a chicken forum ... This sight just gets better & better! I see these posts are a couple months old. Any improvement on your situation? We have 3 pugs (all males) & I've never worried about them attacking the girls. I've occasionally worried about them loosing an eye, but the few hen & duck nips they've had have taught them to give the girls a wide berth & everyone roams around together & gets along fine. I don't think I would completely trust any other breed of dog around my girls like I do with pugs. We have an indoor rabbit & they are completely mellow with her too. Most of our pugs came before any of the other animals & whenever we bring a new fur/feathered baby home, we let them look, we let them smell, but the second they seem too interested we speak firmly to them. Its a lot of intense supervision for the first couple days, but our pugs adapt pretty quickly to just about anything.

*On a side note; In the past, we've had a couple roosters here & the above interspecies niceties did not apply. Even though our roo's were on the gentler end of the spectrum, they were still roo's & we couldn't let the pugs anywhere near them. (A very difficult few months until we could properly rehome them, but that's a whole other story.)

Again, I'm very excited to find fellow pug people here!

Hello!!!

I had to re-read what I wrote haha. My pug is great around the chickens now. They run and flit around and he pays no attention to them. Now I have some small bantams that I have not let him close to yet, because they are
small, but he's awesome with all my birds now.

I hope the OP gives us an update also.

Nice to meet you WV. I just checked out your hyperlink & love the pic's. One of ours is black too. He was 2yrs old when we rescued him from a young couple who knew nothing about pugs & was not willing to deal with his endearing quirks. We renamed him The Fanged Monkey (Fang or Monkey for short) because when he gets really comfortable his big ol' tongue sticks out. I obviously have a weird sense of humor, but that saggy old tongue is truly one of my favorite things in the world!

room onthebroom said:

Nice to meet you WV. I just checked out your hyperlink & love the pic's. One of ours is black too. He was 2yrs old when we rescued him from a young couple who knew nothing about pugs & was not willing to deal with his endearing quirks. We renamed him The Fanged Monkey (Fang or Monkey for short) because when he gets really comfortable his big ol' tongue sticks out. I obviously have a weird sense of humor, but that saggy old tongue is truly one of my favorite things in the world!

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Awwww I just wanna hug him and kiss him and snuggle him to pieces!
They are special, aren't they? A breed of their own, and a face only a mother could love! (although my hubby loves our boy every bit as much as I do)

Yeah, maybe its a rooster that is getting aggressive. My standard poodle was always scared of the chickens, but she was a puppy.